Amazing Stories of Suspense #154

In the eerie stillness of a high-rise hotel, a nervous passer-by is forced at gunpoint by a shadowy spy, who plans to detonate a bomb. As the elevator ascends, the cheerful operator calmly lets the spy off at the 13th floor—only to vanish without a trace, whispering that the floor doesn’t exist.

In "The Patient in Room 3D," a team of doctors pushes the limits of science, performing an experimental procedure on a monkey in hopes of unlocking genius-level intellect to solve humanity’s greatest challenges. Though the operation fails to deliver the breakthrough they sought, the doctors ultimately let the patient return to its true nature—free from the burden of unnatural intelligence.

In "Will This Be the End of the World?", a baseball player’s mitt becomes the unlikely refuge—and last hope—for a civilization of tiny humans facing annihilation as a fastball hurtles toward them. The story unfolds with quiet tension as the microscopic people scramble to save their world, all while unaware of the massive, unseen force bearing down on them.

In "Menace from Mars!" from *Amazing Stories of Suspense* #154, a group of visiting Martians conduct a chilling test of human morality—using a machine to probe a single man’s mind. What they find is a startling purity of thought, free of greed, hatred, or deceit, leading them to conclude Earth poses no threat. But the truth is far more unsettling: the man they’ve judged is a mental patient, and his answers are shaped by delusion, not virtue.

In "Forever Is a Long Long Time!" from *Amazing Stories of Suspense* #154 (1976), a ruthless businessman pressures a scientist into handing over a device that promises a thousand-year lifespan by mimicking the longevity of a giant redwood. When he activates it in his mansion, he discovers too late that the ray doesn’t just extend life—it freezes him in place, body and mind, as immobile as the very tree he sought to emulate.

In "The Thing in the Black Box!" from *Amazing Stories of Suspense* #154, a shipwrecked man stumbles upon the legendary Pandora, whose allure proves deadly when she convinces him to open her mysterious black box. As demons pour forth and chaos ensues, he must confront her illusions—using her own deception to turn the tide, before humanity is consumed.